Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-20
BOYS LEGS.
SOMETHING ABOUT EDUCATING THE
MUSCLES OF YOUTHS.
Rules for Taking Healthy Excrciss-A Chap
ter for Parents as Well
as Boys.

The greatest educators OF Greece ana
Rome used to train not only boys minds,
but their muscles too. Aristotle
more renowned teacher than any IN the
world today taught Alexander the
Great not only IN the various branches
of learning then known, but he also
taught him how to get strong and bow to
stay so. Plato-one OF the Nlsest
men that ever lyed-was a winning sth-
lete in The famous Isthmian games, whore
not few thousand people merely, but
nearly all Greece assembled to do the
victor honor. These men did not be-
lieve in our lazy American habit OF
sitting down all the time, but used to
make their pupils step around during
their studies, uutil shey came to be known
ny the name OF Peripatetics,' or
wakers-around.
Socrates, teacher more famous almost
than either of these, man Of giant IN
tcllect. was vet healthy, robust, and
enduring to an extraordinary degree,
SO hardy. indeed, thet he went barefoot
al. the year round, and 80 muscular that
when Alcibiades was wounded in the bat
tie of Potidga he bore him "a the field
on his shoulder, while with his sword
arm he hewed passageway through the
enemy. is there a principal OF any pub
be- school IN the United states who could
10 the like Of that Yet arc there ten
teachers IN our land to day whose united
fame will endure through 1900 years, a.
has the fame Of Socrates
The teachers Of many schools in Eng
| land, in France, IN Italy, and Germany,
train boys brains and their muscles also
and orr American teachcrs-what do they
train? Brains, yee. But muscles who
and where? Eton, Rugby, Harrow,
Wcstministsr the lannon's British schools,
have broad. attractive grounds
where Gladstone and Palmerston ami al
most every man of note IN England tor
generations back used 10 educate their
| legs and backs, their twists and arms,
but whore IS there anything worth calling
a play ground at any school in New York
or Philadelphia, Brooklyn or boston.
/ Chicago or st. Louis?
Cromwelrs inviucible " lronsides,
like their great captain, were men OF
! hard muscles as well as OF ron will
Captain Maitland, OF the British ship
BclIerophon, who took SonaDArte TO ~.
Helena. says that be was remarkably
strong, Vell-buiit man, especially well
developed in the legs. Washington was
"a runner OF amazing swlltness, and
/ Nr. Bancroft, the historian. saws that no
man in the American army he'd stropeer
arms than he. Who can doubt that Che
/ trained bodies OF these iilustrious mon
were great aids TO their mincs IN the
vast labors they were compelled TO I'M
dergo?
Many Of our city boys are not on their
/ feet two hours out OF the twenty-four
soon after they are up they eat break
! fast then sauntera few blocks to school
then sit five or SIX hours a day in little
cramped.up desks, IN bad air, with a
make-belieye recess of a few minutes IN
the middle OF the session. Then a short
walk home to dinner For "a hour or
two in the afternoon many play
pretty hard, but many more do not
/ play atoll. or hard enough at least to ever
make their weak muscles anything else
/ but weak. They come in 10 supper. st
all evening. and ne down all night.
! Long before they are men many OF
| them get into business, and then seldom
/ have any piay 40 all. Is this the way to
make strong. vigorous resolute men,
effective workers wherever their lot Is
/ cast. down all useful hte A thou
slud years ago, n0t among an cnliSht-
/ ened people like ours, but amid rude
bsrbariaus, King Alfred the Great ac-
complshed far more than almost any
man in our land does o-day. Yet out Of
every twentyiOur hours he managed to
/ take eight for improving his body.
Would not eight miles seem pretty
/ long walk TO almost any Of our school
BOYS to day? And if theie was a rail
road or street-car near, would they not
/ be likely to rde instead OF walk? Yet
| famous New York lawyer, who IS eighty
/ two years old. has for many years walked
/ his eight miles every day and ridden
/ horseback a whole hour besides. That
is his recipe for preserving health, and Il
/ fine hale mdu is lie, tall and commanding
aud agreat WORKER David Dudley field.
. lie says that the Chief clements Of sue
/ cess ut the bar ere brains, attention,
and vitality" but is there any busi-
hess yCu can name in which those eie-
mcnts are not rs puch needed A. at the
hW ? Aud who trains the tit0HtV of
/ the American boy No one but the
boy himself, and poor enough work he
makes Of it. simply because b. does not
know It's value or how to tram 1t. We
would laugh at tAe teacher who let boy
hear his own recit&tions. But that Is
exactly the way We tram the boys body.
Long ago we learned that that would
never DO with bio head but we have
not learned 1t yet with bis body.
This very day, in many parts Of Ger
many, are many troops OF echool-bOys
trampiug across country IN light march
ing order, accompanied By their teach
ers, and actually covering several hun
bred miles IN their Jaunts. Yes, right IN
the warm weather. Warm weather is
good kind 70 work in. Horses often
DO their very sviiJSsl running on tie
hottest days OF the wear, and never
seem any the worst for It But how
many of our bows, when school opens
acain. viii be able to show any such
score a., these Observation-Disclosures hardy
little Germans? We can lay in enough
yigor in thirty Weil-spent dayslu summer
10 lastly almost through tiilHeXt June,
breathing every inch OF your lungs full
5000 times day, giving most Of your
muscles lively play. sharpening your d.
ec-.ion. and making your spirits buoyant
anu bIithe all tho day long.
Wen. how shall they 20 to work ?
Take a hoy with slim, poor legs and
small hips, for Instance. How can he
build them up? Plainly not by using
only his arms or bis brain. and SO keep
ing the blood mp there, bet by using his
less and hips How? Wei, try this
way On q level bit Of grass let him Try
standing jump. Then measure how
many feet aud inches he has cleared.
Let nina try this half a dozen times, IS
a. about the third or fourth jump
he will find bis heel dents are
farther ahead than III the first
one. II he does not know how
to jump land many, many boys do
not know how-lust think OF it } let him
get the best jumper he knows to show
him how Tomorrow morning try the